Beyond The Shadows
by RubiconLove
Summary: As a shinobi, there will always be the possibility a mission will go completely wrong. That's a given. Sometimes the failure is minor and sometimes it's life changing. At the age of 21, Sakura will be forced to pick up the broken pieces of her shattered life. Her solution is joining ambu. After 5 years with no luck it's time for Sakura to reunite with Team Kakashi.


Disclaimer: Kishimoto is the bomb and he created Naruto. I'm just an amateur attempting to write fan fiction.

Warning:There is a reason this will be rated M. I'll try not to get really graphic and stuff if for some reason you don't think you should be reading rated M things, please remember viewer discretion is advised. I don't want to go to bed every night thinking i'm corrupting some innocent mind.

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Chapter One: A failed mission

She paused momentarily in her process of pacing to stifle another shiver that threatened to shake her whole body. The chill was almost as unbearable as the stench of coal dust, blood and sweat that permeated the small room.

Sakura and one of her nameless squad members were, at the moment occupying the lowest level of the Inn they inhabited, which was also known as the _Cellar._

The _Cellar_ Sakura thought offhandedly was the worst room out of the whole place that was saying something since her first experience in the bathhouse almost made her piss her pants due to fear...Yeah, not her most glorified moments that's for sure.

They had been camped out in the atrocious Inn for nearly two months, and it was nasty- and probably housed more rodents and vermin than it would ever entertain people. But it was cheap, thus making it manageable . As an ambu operative she was trained to endure unpleasant situations, and she had, far worse in fact. This was nothing compared to other missions she had been sent on. So, for the time being, Sakura toughened it out and counted the days until the mission was over.

Cheap or worse conditions- she was still ready to go home. Her ass was freezing, and it was on the verge of compromising her calm and collected demeanor.

Snow had to be her least favorite location for tracking, it was just so _troublesome_. Why did her perp have to do his dirty business in snow country of all places.

She chanced a glance at said perp. Covered in blood and bruises he returned her glare wholeheartedly. Probably imagining ways in which to hurt her if he was ever able to escape. She couldn't blame him if he was, in fact, planning her demise; she had probably, no wait scratch that, _undoubtedly _made number one on his "_worst week of my life" _list. Because honestly, it was unlikely that while planning his trip to Snow Country for a little bit of illegal business and a whole lot of pleasure, he had made time in his busy schedule to squeeze in a little bit of time to be on the receiving end of abduction, a little bit of ass kicking, tears and a whole lot of interrogation.

If he wasn't such a prick, Sakura would feel sorry for even then she still felt queasy inflicting such pain on a person...

Every since she was a child she was known for being a tender, loving girl. In fact, it came as a shock to all her relatives that she wanted to become a ninja. They had mentioned their disapproval for her dream vocation too many times to count. But she still went through with it, and became an exceptionally well known medical ninja at the young age of sixteen. Where she was able to stay that tender, loving girl who help her village and saved the lives of numerous people- both strangers and loved ones.

Sakura Haruno, the petite girl with the hair the color of Cherry Blossom trees, who had jade colored eyes that held so much innocence and curiosity it was scary. The girl with a strong punch, and an even stronger will, who loved her village so much more than any amount words could describe. People who met her admired and adored her, and hoped that- while being a ninja ultimately led to heartbreak, scars both physical and emotional, and an untimely death- they hoped she wouldn't have to face any of those things. And for many years they need not worry about such things. She had a healthy family to confide in, a team she could count on to protect her, and friends that would be there no matter what. She was happy...

But time changes people. For, all her family had long since passed. She had been through far too much at too young of an age. And while she still had the petite frame for a young woman, she was far from that characterization. At the age of twenty six Sakura had killed too many people to even remember their faces- both the innocent and the criminals. The bitterness after taking a life no longer threatened to drive her crazy, because the guilt was easily muffled by a good couple rounds at a cheap pub.

It was her job to kill, hurt, and ruin people's lives. That was what her _vocation _entailed.

She did her job, no personal vendettas attached. One could say she was a droid. And it was better that they thought that way.

Even while she was seen as a droid by an outsider,she still had her trepidation's on unnecessary torture. A little fraction of her old self still desperately latched onto her heart, reminding her she was a healer before she was an ambu operative. But she had a mission to complete, and no matter her disapproval on torture she knew what they were doing was for the best. Because this man was a terrible murderer and probably divvied out far worse to far more innocent people, and if they didn't get the info they needed _and fast, _an entire town would suffer severely.

So knowing that...

She proceeded in pacing back and forth across the dank room. The sound of each of her foot steps and the clanking of her Katana she kept moving from her right to left hand in a rhythmic pattern was the only two sounds that echoed throughout the room.

_Too long. They'd been here for far too long…_

_Two months of investigation and they hardly knew a thing…_

_A whole week of off and on interrogation and all they found out about this elusive faction was the name of the weasley man before them and possibly his age, although Sakura had her suppositions he had been lying about that…_

"Saito Lee.. Age 35…"

The man before her was a gangling looking fellow with a balding head, what was left of it had been turned grey.

Yeah, he had definitely lied about his age.

"I'm pretty sure I had said I was 33…"

Now he was just playing with them.

"Yeah, well i'm pretty sure both ages are wrong anyways, so what does it matter." She shot back annoyance lacing every word.

Sakura turned towards her masked partner and gracefully chucked him the Katana, which he caught with the same amount of suave, then placed it onto the table he was sitting on.

Again, turning towards their hostage and circling around him she dangled her arms around his shoulder and gently whispered in his ear.

"Our source has told us that you were a high ranking member of an unknown faction that appears to becoming a high threat for the many great shinobi villages… Now, I know I've asked nicely, and i'm vaguely certain my buddy over there has tried more… unpleasant ways of interrogation…" She followed up her words by running her fingers through an impressively large puncture wound near his stomach just barely missing anything vital. " So you should know by now that i'm curious as to what kind of group actually thinks they're powerful enough to be a threat towards any of those shinobi villages… And perhaps you don't know this, but i'm a very impatient girl…" Her fingers ran up his torso, then neck as she drew swirls on his checks with the blood that stained her fingers...

He didn't even flinch.

_Damn she was so done with this weather._

"Not to mention i'm getting extremely cold, Snow Country just isn't my cup of sake you see… And when i'm not exactly comfortable I can get a bit pissy. You do understand that don't you?

He replied with a raspy grunt.

"So why don't we just cut to the chase and get the part where you tell me what I want to know."

"Look lady, you have some nerve interrogating me on what little known information you seem to be riding on. As far as I can tell, all you have to go by is what _some _source told you… What makes you so certain this source isn't some attention seeking shitface?"

"I trust my source."

"Is that so?" He sounded very amused for somebody who was tied up and bloody…

_She was really fucking cold…_

With one quick swift and a little chakra in her foot she easily broke one of the legs off the chair the prisoner was held in. Throwing him off balance and likely to fall sideways if it wasn't for her hold on his shoulders, which she held a little to tightly.

"You laugh Saito, but I don't see what's so funny…. I could use a good laugh, care to let me in on the joke?" she proceeded to whisper into his ear…

With a small chuckle and a shake of his head, "You really are stupid lady... This whole mission has been a setup, and you obviously fell for it."

Sakura glared at him slightly confused.

"I'm guessing this source of yours told you that i'm some hot shot in this mysterious _faction, _and he probably even told your Hokage where to find me. So... Being good little anbu operatives you've probably been following me, listening in to everything I've been saying , taking notes and ultimately ruining all my hard work...?" He asked turning to show her that he was raising an eyebrow at her.

It was true, they had been ordered to do everything he had said, and they had been doing so for _two damn months!_ But she wasn't going to let him know that.

"I'm sure you even heard about how we plan to destroy the little town just north from here?"

Yes, they had heard that and they were making plans on evacuating the civilians-

"I wouldn't even bother evacuating the people if I were you-"

_well, shit..._

" -that was just a lie, we wanted to lead you guys down a false trail, because our primary objective was Udon. Why would we even go after a small nameless village anyways? Udon is the Snow Countries' largest trade route, if we raise that to the ground it would be more beneficial to our... _plans."_

_After a moment of silence Saito rolled his eyes _".. Seriously, are you guys that stupid?"

Sakura couldn't believe it. Well, she could believe it but it just didn't seem right. They had been following him for far too long, if he had known, why would he have allowed it to go on for so long?

..And while his words sounded like a load of horse shit his eyes held a small sparkle that appeared to be… amusement…

He wasn't lying.

Sakura shot up quickly and pulled away from Saitos' smirk to glance at her partner who had become slightly tense in the shoulders.

He was staring at her and while each of their expressions were hidden behind porcelain masks, it was obvious they were both concerned.

Everything was wrong. And Saito, who began laughing confirmed their worst thoughts.

They were in deep-

"Shit!" Sakura hissed and bolted towards the stairs of the cellar. "Warn the rest of the squad about our findings," she spoke above the squeaking of the old stairs.

Her partner was right behind her as she dashed through the Inn and flung the doors open.

She paused and turned for a moment to finish giving him her orders. "Make sure you tell them to evacuate Udon immediately!"

With a nod of his head he was off to comply to her given orders, heading back into the Inn, where their radio transmitter was.

She looked around at her surroundings ignoring the snow that fell rapidly. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

And it wasn't' making any sense. She was positive her info was accurate. Her lead was a reliable source, one who could be trusted. So why…?

… The bitter realization hit her a moment too late when a large explosion was heard from the opposite direction of Udon.

Udon had never been the target, and neither had the small village. It was all just a hoax…

… And when that realization made a full force entry another explosion went off… One then sent her flying.

Her body hit a tree far from where she was standing, the force sending her in the air so fast and so hard said tree broke in half and came crashing down with a loud bang. It was both impressive and very embarrassing. But that seemed so trivial at the moment as she lay momentarily paralyzed staring off at what she assumed was the Inn.

She wasn't, in the least, sad to see the Inns' demise. She did however cringe at the fact that while it was terrible, there were still a few people vacating it, and they were obviously now human torches. One being her partner, another being their only means to finding out more on this so called faction…

Moments ago snow that had been the bane of her existence, filtered down from the sky, was now joined by the drops of ash and debris.

Struggling to stand herself up, even pathetically grasping onto the damn tree that messed up her back, she was finally able to stand herself upright to get a better idea on how bad the situation was.

There was nothing left of the Inn, a giant fire taking its' place, people were running in every direction unsure of what was going on. Pained screams and the sound of a child crying caught her attention, but she could not point out where they were coming from. She turned in the direction of Udon to see that it was still in tact, but turning she saw that Tohuko, the busy town in which the lord of Snow Country resided was now surrounded with smoke.

On occasion she could make out the orange and red of the flames that licked the once prosperous town.

The conclusion to her observation was simple. With a large sigh she grumbled to no one in particular( since no one was actually paying her any mind as they frantically ran about trying to figure out what was going on) a single word…

"- shit!"

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TBC

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Hello, you awesome people!So, if you're an awesome person and you are updated on the manga (omg crazy shit is happening) then you are... an awesome person... yes.

Also, you'll realize i'm not entirely following the manga. Well, I am, but my story resides after Pain attacked and the leaf village was destroyed. So no fourth great ninja war... Maybe that'll be another story. I don't know.

Anyways, hopefully i'm not too confusing and hopefully this story isn't too crappy.

I'm really new at this writing fan fiction shin dig so I don't mind constructive criticism. I'm aware there are probably some errors in this, and there will probably be plenty throughout the story, I am human so I make mistakes. I will try my best however, to catch as many errors as possible.

I'm going to try to update regularly maybe every week or every other week. I'm working on another KakaSaku story so... I don't know how long the updates will take. Not too long I can assure you. I know for sure that there will be an update no later than June 1st. Yeah, that seems far but my baby sister is graduating soon and a lot is going on this month... :D

Anyways! I am terribly sorry for such a long spiel. I probably won't make a habit of such long entries or anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer. Well, I think that's about it! Thank you for your time !

*Oh and if anyone knows of any good kakasaku or any other Naruto related stories or has written some I would be ecstatic to read them. I could really go for some entertaining stories :D

-Rubi


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